Apparatus for unloading kilns by conveyer belts



. Feb. 6, 1923. 1,444,202:

R. c. FENFIELD. D APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING KILNS BY CONVEYER BELTS.

HLED JUNE 1. i320. L SHEETS-SHEE1 1.

l'hvezvio Feb. 6, 1923. 1,444,207.

- H. C. PENFIELD 7 APPARMUS run umomms mus BY CONVEYEH ems.

FILED JUNE]. 1920. 2 SHEITS-SHFIT 2.

WW4 d- 27 a oriigy Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

UNITED STATES BAYMOiID C. PENFIELl). OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING KILNS BY CONVEYEB BELTS.

Application filed June 1, 1920.

To all m am it may com-em Be it known that l. Itarnoso PEN- rlsw, acitizen of the l nited States. and resident of New York, in the countyof New York and State of New York. have invented an Improvement inApparatus for l nloading Kilns by (onveyer Belts. of whieh the followingdeseription. in eouneetion with the aeeompanying drawings. is aspeeitication. like letters on the dra\\'ings representing like parts.

My present invent-ion is an apparatus for meehanieally removing brick orthe like from kilns, piles, staeks. ete.. and is a routinnation in partof my prior applieation, Her.

.\'o. 383.5, filed liltiy 22. I92.

As explained in my'said prior applieation. my invention eontemplates theuse of me rhauieal liienns. preferably power aelnated.

which will separate a predeteruiilu-d mass of hriek from a pile. starkor kiln. foreihly remove the ln'iek thus separated from-the stark, andtransfer them onto enraving deviees, whit-h deviees may he lifting apparatus. hoppers or the like. sueh as illustrated in my eopendingapplieation Ser. .\'o. ilh'kzltloftiled May 20. 19:3". and alsoeontinuons conveying apparatus as illustrated in the present.invention.'lhe ohjeetof this invention is to enable hriek in large munbers andquantities to he quirklv removed by meehanleal means. saving hamoperation heretofore neeessary in unloading the brick kilns. and inremoving the hriek from such kilnapile or stack, onto other carriers forloading ears. boats. trueks or transporting the hrlek to other piles.'hile meehanieal hrirk handling apparatus have been sueeessfullyemployed in building a kiln and setting brirk therein. no eonunereialmaehine has heretofore lwen devised to take the plat-e. of th handoperation of unloading hriek. while seve'ral .efl'orts along this linehave la-en attempted.

ln m v present invention l prefer to em ploy eontinuously operatingdeviees. both to transport. hr rarry brirk when remored from the kiln.as well as to etl'ert t-luseparation and removal of the hriek from thekiln onto the. earryi'ng deviees. ln earrying out my invention lemploy ameehanieal separator and remover. preferably in the form of a entinnously rotating endless belt. having one or more hrirk separatingand engaging members thereon.. whieh apparatus is designed to besuspended over the topmost Serial No. 385,636.

tier of the mass of brick to he removed, and then moved laterallythroughout the length of sueh tier.-viz the width of the kiln while theendless belt continuously aetuates to sueeessively engage, separate andremove portions of the brick. This separating and removing apparatuscould be employed to transfer a rowor rows of brick onto a hopper.earrier or the like, such as illustrated Ill my said eopendingapplieation, Ser. No. 384.285. but preferably I use a continuous beltapparatus to more a single row of brick onto a eontinuously movingcarrier, which latter is iii lginged at the fate of the stack or kilnand preferably slightly below the eourse or eourses being removed.

Further features of the invention. novel eomhinations of parts andadvantages will he lu-reinafter more full pointed outand elnimed.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of myinvention,

Fig. l is a fragmentary 'viewof the face of a hriek kiln, withthesemlrating apparatus and traveling belt shown in position for llfit:

Fig. 2 is a plan view;

Fig. It is an end view:

Fig. -l is an enlarged eross-sectionu] (le- 86 tail on the line -l-l ofFig. .3;

Fig. .i is an enlarged view. partly in crossseetiou. of the endlessbeltseparating and removing apparatus. taken on the line 55 of Fig. ti:15

Fig. (l is an elevational view of the same; and

Fig. I is a rross-seetional View on the line TT of Fig. 5:

Referring to the drawings, l have deSig-Ii nated the fare of a hriekkiln at 1. showing a portion of the kiln with brick removed and a unitstark of hriek indicated generall v at .3 hein; removed. These brirkkilns, it built h v meehanieal setters. will he usually eouslrurted ofunits approximately of the setting and dimensions shown in Fig. 2. amlsueh units are theretore readily capable of removal by m v merhauiealunloading apparatus. The brick is set with alternate 108 rows at rightangles to earh other, as is usual. and my apparatus is designed equallyt separate and remove a course of brick. whether transversel of the lineof action of the removing :ution. as shown at the course 110 designated2. Fig. l. or longitudinally as the course 1. The separating andremoving An overhead traveling crane with transverse carriage is equallyuseful and in either instance the a paratus 5 can be positioned atproper hei it and moved step by step or continuous y across the face ofthe kiln while simultaneously separating and sweeping or removing thetopmost layer of brick therefrom and onto the surface of the conveyor12.

The apparatus 5.11s best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, comprises a top frame15 and side plates 16. The supporting cables 9 being attached toeye-bolts 17, at convenient places, and parallel arms l0, l0, pivoted at21, to lugs 22 on the end'plates. These arms 10. 10, constitute crowdingrods and thrust members and tend to hold the apparatus level and steadand are carried by the supporting crane in the manner shown in saidcopending application, 362,650, or equiva lent manne r.

Between theside frames 16 bearings therefor indicated at 23, 23. 23. area plurality of shafts 24, 25 and 26, on which are mounted gear wheels27. 28 and 29, said wheels carrying a pair of sprocket chains 30, 30.The topmost shaft :24. is preferably arranged to receive power from amotor 33, mounted on the top frame 15. through a sprocket chain 34 and apinion '35 secured to said shaft 24. \Vithin the side frames 16 are apair of cam guides 36, 36. secured to the side frame lG-by studs 38, 38,and tapped bolts 39 extending therc in suitable -"through (see Fig. 7)..

Carried by the sprocket chains 30,-arc a plurality of brick separatingand removing paddles or cross-bars 40. these members being mounted onarms 1 1, 41. keyed through one of the link studs 42. which acts as arock shaft and having an upwardly extending lever arm 43 thereon. with aright anglcil stud 44, carrying a roll 45 engaging the cam path 36 (seeFig. 4). This arrangement provides that the relative position. \erticalor horizontal, of the paddles 40. will be determined by the curve andposition of the cam path 36. lhe purpose of this arrange ment is toinsure the vertical positioning of the paddles 40 as the same comedownwardly during their continuous rotation. and at the point where theywill engage and separate a row of brick from the mass of the kiln. Alsothe cam path is so formed that it will maintain thcsc paddles 40 inalsubstantially vertical position during the traversing of the distancefrom the lowermost wheels 28 to :2!) during: the brick removingoperation. .\s shown in Fig. l. the paddle 40 at the posilion where itis just entering behind the row the paddle it) in a substantiallyvertical position while lifting it out of the line of travel of saidbrick. During the remainder of the travel. the paddle may be andpreferably is swung horizontally through the sharp curve 48, swingingthe paddle upwardly and forwardly of the line of travel so as to be inprlzition for the vertical downward movein it. at the brick engagingpoint as above explained.

The conrever belt 12 is of usual construction consisting in an endlessbelt rotating around suitable rollers at the end of a frameworkindicated generally at 50. and held at proper height to receive thecourse or courses of brick being removed and in contact with the face ofthe kiln. approxi mately as shown in Figs. 1. 2 and 3. This conveycrframe may be supported in any desired manner, it being here shown asbar-- i ng one endl'il on which a motor 52 furnlshes power throughaiaelt 53 to rotate the convex-er, which support 51 is held in desiredvertical position by a crane of any suitable type. the beam 55. showinga portion of same in conventional form. and the other cud of the frame50 being supported by parallel links or arms 56. so that the entireframe may be kept level and raised or lowered during the progressiveaction of unloading successive courses of brick thereon. l find itfeasible to position the frame 50 and belt [2 below a plurality ofcourses of brick. and thereupon nniintain the belt in this height whilesaid plurality of courses of bri k are removed by the se ,iai'ating' andcngaging apparatus. 'l hcreupon the frame :30 can bc lonered three orfour courses and the removing continued before again lowering the same.

The operation of my apparatus will be readily comprehended. The conveyerbelt 5b being positioned adjacent the topmost coursc or courses to heremoved and the apparatus 5 swung thereovcr. the motors are starlcil.and the brick in the topmost row IS successively engagcd by paddles 40and forced or slid thereover onto the surface of the belt 12. whichconveyor belt, being in motion. transfers the same to a. car, truck,

without manual handling,

platform or other desired position. I pre fer to so arrange theplurality of paddles 40, proportioned with the speed of rotation of thesprocketchains 30, that the entire apparatus 5 can be 'movedcontinuously and transversel of the course of brick 3 being removed. tus iving a line of travel to the paddles 40, in icated by the slantinglines 60 in Fig. 2, successive paddles 40 en aging successive masses ofbrick and pre erably overlapping so that although the paddles 40 are ofa length equal to the width of the apparatus 5, yet the speed ofrotation will bring these paddles 40 into operative position slightlyoverlapping the space of the preceding paddle and thus surely engagingall the brick in the row. Thereupon the up paratus 5 can be lowered forthe next row, while continuously operating and moved backwardly acrossthe face of the kiln, sliding, forcing and mechanically removing with asgreat a speed as may be desired, the entire brick in the course. Theplurality of courses of brick having been removed, the frame andeonveyer are then lowered, and the operation repeated. Thus the entirebricks in the kiln are removed mechanically with reat speed and withoutmanual handling. While I preferably design the apparatus 5 to cover andremove a dimen slon of bricks based on the usual unit of setting thesame, this of course, is entirely optional, and a larger or lessernumber can be as readily operated upon by.the separatitig and removingvices 5. By my apparatus freight cars can be run in alongside thebrickyard as is usual, and the brick mechanically removed from the kiln,the conveyer 12 transferring said brick, either directly or throughother conveyers, into the car and thus removing the bIlCk from the kiln,conveyin to the transporting device and loading them onto or into thetransporting device, car, boat or the like, entirely and in an expe- 1..Mechanical brick handling apparatus of the kind described, comprisingcontinuously moving brick engaging devices adapted to separate aplurality of brick in a stack,

and to move the same from stacked posi-' non, comprising means tomaintain the brick engagin devices in a substantially vertical linewhile entering the plane of the brick to be removed.

2. Mechanical brick handling apparatus of the kind described, comprisingcontinuously moving brick engaging devices adapted to separate aplurality of brick in a stack, and to move the same from stackedposition, comprisinglmeans to maintain the brick enaging devices in asubstantially vertical fine while *enterin the plane.of the brick to beremoved, an during the brick removing operation.

3. Mechanical brick handlingapparatus, colnprisingfa continuously movinconveyor adapted for adjustment in a vertical lane, means to hold thesame in vertical ad usted position, adjacent the brick to be moved, incombination with means to en age brick in courses and forcibly transfert 1e same onto the continuously moving conveyor while the latter is heldinaits ad usted position adjacent thereto.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this, specification.

RAYMOND C. PENFIELD.

